The last days of the Jiang father and son in Xikou: worshiping the Buddha to draw the "next signature"

By the end of 1948, the millions of troops on which Chiang Kai-shek relied to support his policy of civil war dictatorship had been devastated and devastated by the People's Liberation Army; economic reform had failed, inflation, and the national economy was on the verge of total collapse, and the people's grievances were boiling; factional struggles within the Kuomintang regime had suddenly intensified, and Li Zongren, Bai Chongxi, and others frequently issued "exhortations" to Chiang Kai-shek to go abroad; and the White House in the United States also felt that Chiang was incurable, urging a change of horses and letting Li Zongren replace him. In the face of desperation, Chiang Kai-shek had to "carefully consider the issue of retreat, and under the circumstances of internal and external compulsion, it must be put down and affordable."

On the morning of January 19, 1949, Jiang met with Li Zongren to "discuss the current situation and express his intention to retire." On the 21st, Chiang Kai-shek was forced to announce his retirement in the name of "not being able to see things for some reason", and Vice President Li Zongren acted as president.

On the same day, Chiang Kai-shek, accompanied by his son Chiang Ching-kuo, embarked on a journey back to his hometown. From January 22 to April 25, Chiang Kai-shek spent his last years in his hometown of Xikou. It was a day when the father and son of the Jiang family not only felt nostalgia and warmth, but also could not bear the loneliness and resentment and troubles, so they issued an unprecedented number of sighs.

The author recently had time to spend time in xikou. Looking at the relevant relics of the Jiang family and hearing the dusty story of the Jiang father and son, people feel that it means a long time, especially the last words and deeds of the Jiang father and son left in Xikou.

Chiang Kai-shek: "The Bodhisattva of Wushan Temple is spiritual!" ”

East out of the Wuling Gate, about a hundred steps, there is a temple on the right hand side, which is the Wushan Temple. Historically, it was a temple of the five clans of Ren, Song, Shan, Zhang and Jiang in Xikou Town. Since the Jiang surname was bred into the town's big surname, the Jiang surname has become the head of the society, and the major celebrations of the Jiang family have been held here.

The Jiang family has a special relationship with the Wushan Temple. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, Chiang Kai-shek's father was elected as the head of the temple and was in charge of the daily management of the temple property. He once gathered the five patriarchs to carry out a large-scale expansion of the Wushan Temple, thus laying the scale of the Wushan Temple to this day.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Wushan Primary School was built here, and Chiang Ching-kuo, the son of Chiang Kai-shek, was enlightened here in 1916. After that, Chiang Kai-shek also funded the construction of the temple, and entered the temple many times to make wishes and signs, taking the Bodhisattva of Wushan Temple as the support of his spirit. After the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek returned to Xikou to recuperate, and the first thing he did after getting off the bus was to burn incense and prostrate himself in front of the Bodhisattva of Wushan Temple.

In January 1949, Chiang Kai-shek went down for the third time. Compared with previous times, this homecoming is very different in every aspect. The Jiang family dynasty is collapsing, and "the right way in the world is vicissitudes", which seems to be that even the bodhisattvas who live deep in the Wushan Temple in Xikou Town are "like looking at the fire".

When returning to Xikou, Chiang Kai-shek once again came to the Wushan Temple to worship the bodhisattva and drew a "next signature." The chief guard who accompanied him comforted: "Sir, don't be sad, the signature may not be credible." Faced with the reality of decadence, Chiang Kai-shek had a little surprise and said frankly: "Don't talk nonsense, the Bodhisattva of Wushan Temple is spiritual!" ”

Chiang Ching-kuo: "Li (Zongren's) attitude, judging the two of them in the blink of an eye"

The "magic" of MyokoTai lies in looking up at the foot of the mountain, only to see that there is no platform for its peak; after being at the summit, you can only see that the platform is not known as the peak. The "height" of Myokodai is that although the summit is only 396 meters above sea level, at the edge of the platform, it can be seen that three sides are directly facing the abyss, and the mountains worship, suddenly giving people a particularly high and steep feeling.

Inside myokodai, ancient pines are tall, strange rocks are everywhere, clouds and fog are covered over the years, and the climate is cool in summer, such as a paradise, which has been a place and summer resort for snow dou ascending since ancient times. According to legend, the Song Dynasty monk Zhihe Zen master lived in myokotai for 20 years and was adjacent to the two tigers of Fuhu Cave under the stage. Zhihe chanted the sutra year after year on yan sitting on the stone, and Rijiu actually inspired the two tigers and jumped on the stage to listen to the scriptures. After knowing and closing, the two tigers were inseparable.

In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek first went down to Guili, that is, he selected Xuedou Mountain, a victorious place, demolished the Qiyun Nunnery, and built a two-story villa that combines Chinese and Western styles, for which he inscribed the title of "MyokoTai". The original Qiyun Nunnery Zhongshi Qi Zen Master Stupa was left untouched in the courtyard of the villa, and in the past, Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling came here to escape the summer, and always bowed in front of the stupa to salute.

Chiang Kai-shek's last homecoming in 1949, Myokotai Villa, was one of his habitats. At that time, the myoko platform covered by clouds and fog became the place where he made his last attempt to shake the Republic of China, and a radio station was set up in the villa and a sand table was laid. In stark contrast to Chiang's transition from the bustling Jinling to the Cangmang Miaogaotai, the CPC Central Committee marched from the countryside of Xibaipo to the thousand-year-old capital of Beipingcheng, and the two military centers that influenced China's fate completed an intriguing shift between the front and back feet.

From the long diary that his son Chiang Ching-kuo had already written very peacefully that day, everyone could perceive it: "Today is the day of my father's 'retirement', that is, the day when the Chinese nation suffered another bad luck in thousands of years of history, and almost broke the national pulse; and I personally also cast a day of indelible and indelible memory... Comrades present at the time were all emotionally excited, and even those who burst into tears. Among them, Comrade Jianzhen disagreed with the power of 'retreating', and finally politely persuaded his father to stop it. Finally, the Declaration was slightly amended, namely the adjournment of the meeting. There are also many senior military cadres who wept bitterly when they heard the news... Mr. Zhang Yuejun called from Nanjing, saying that Li Zongren believed that the points in the declaration that the Central Committee would correct did not know the source and needed to be amended. He also deleted his father's hand-drawn statement that "neither can implement the policy of war nor chaos in order to establish a permanent peace.". Li Zongren and others also said: If they do not correct it accordingly, they will not sign the joint declaration, which will threaten each other. Li Zhi's attitude, judged by the two men in the blink of an eye, is ridiculous for his arrogance and lack of political demeanor..."

"The green mountains can't cover it, after all, the east stream goes"

On January 22, Chiang Kai-shek returned to Fenghua Xikou under the entourage of his son Jingguo.

This time, the situation of the field is very different from the previous two times. The first two setbacks were brief setbacks in the overthrow of the party warlords, and soon there was a comeback. The first time he went to the wilderness, he was three happy to come to the door, and received beauty, power, and foreign aid; the second time he went down to retreat, subdued Wang Jingwei, forced Hu Hanmin and Li Zongren to play with Sun Ke, and finally held the national military power in his hands. And this time, "the green mountains can't cover it, after all, the east flows", and Chiang Kai-shek even has the excuse of "going to Wutai Mountain for retreat".

Although Chiang Kai-shek was still the president of the Kuomintang, he retreated from the Kuomintang, secretly remotely controlled, and more frequently interfered with the party and government in planning military aircraft, the news that came back here was that the negotiations were frequently connected and the soldiers were defeated on the battlefield. The country and mountains are about to change hands, the old land can not stay for a long time, and the return to the hometown is unpredictable...

Therefore, once he left aside his worries about military and government affairs, Chiang Kai-shek went to see the water-colored mountains and mountains of his hometown without distraction, homage the ancestral tomb of the Chiang family, and worship the ancient temples and temples in the Siming Realm. This time, he wanted to see enough, sacrifice enough, worship enough. Outside the political realm, many people who have longed for things since they understood things and have never experienced it since leaving their hometown, in the past 3 months in Xikou, he has tried to go and experienced.

Chiang Kai-shek's schedule was full, going to bed at eight o'clock every day and getting up at six o'clock, but in the eyes of outsiders, he was busy and could not do three things: to meet with political leaders, to pray to God and worship his ancestors, and to watch the water and swim in the mountains. Only when doing the last two things did this iron-fisted leader, who had gathered the highest power of the party, government, and army of the Republic of China, revealed that he had another side.

On the night of his arrival at Xikou, Chiang Kai-shek stayed at the Ci'an Temple, where his mother's grave was located. Chiang Ching-kuo wrote in his diary on this day: "When I returned to my hometown of Fenghua Xikou, I suddenly felt a very warm nostalgia; and I enjoyed the pleasures of heaven as much as possible. ”

From January 22 to Xikou to April 25, from the records mentioned in the diaries of Chiang Kai-shek's father and son alone, in addition to Chiang Kai-shek's going out to meet with Kuomintang military and political dignitaries, no less than 40 military and political dignitaries came to Xikou to meet chiang kai-shek, such as Yan Xishan, Zhang Zhizhong, Wu Zhongxin, Zhang Qun, and so on, who stayed overnight for several days, and even had long talks with Chiang all night at Myokotai.

In addition, Chiang Kai-shek has been recorded more than ten times in the ancestral tomb of the Great Temple and The Small Temple, and nearly 30 times has been recorded visiting the landscape at the mouth of the stream. It seems that only the mountain breeze and water in his hometown can wash away the troubles and misery that reality brings to Jiang's father and son. Chiang Ching-kuo wrote in his diary on January 31: "After visiting Hanzhai with his father, he later ascended the Tashan Temple and Xiaolingfeng in Jiangkou, and the monks received him with courtesy. In the chaotic world of Dinzi, people's hearts are broken, and the outsiders still exist in the ancient way, and the so-called 'loss of courtesy and seeking the wilderness' is also. ”

On February 21, Chiang Ching-kuo's pen presented a picture of a peaceful and prosperous world:

The light of the mountain green pond reflects each other, how happy is it? Back to Iwashita, there were villagers with the surname Shan holding a wedding nearby, and my father took us to participate by the way, and the Shan clan warmly welcomed us. He gave him a goat, a quintal of old wine, a pair of flower candles, and returned with a little refreshment.

However, on the same day, due to the betrayal of Tang Enbo, the commander-in-chief of the Beijing-Shanghai-Hangzhou garrison, Chen Yi, the chairman of Zhejiang Province, who was preparing to emulate Fu Zuoyi's uprising, was arrested by secret agents at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek. On June 18, 1950, in Taiwan, Chen Yi was shot and killed on charges of "colluding with communist bandits."

The last Chinese New Year's Eve meal on the mainland

The seventh day of the Arrival of the Jiang father and son at Xikou coincided with the Chinese New Year's Eve of the lunar calendar. That night, Chiang Kai-shek's whole family ate Chinese New Year's Eve meal at the Fenghaofang Newspaper Hall.

At the main table, in addition to Chiang Kai-shek's father and son, Zhang Qun, who was known as Chiang Kai-shek's lifelong staff member in history, Chen Lifu, then vice president of the Legislative Yuan, Zheng Yandi, secretary general of the Kuomintang Central Committee Party Department, Zhou Lingjun, the governor of Fenghua County, and Mao Yingfu and Wang Lianghe, the local fathers of Xikou.

Chiang Ching-kuo personally took the cup and gave a toast to the guests. When toasting Mao Yingfu, Mao stood up and said, "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be, Brother Jingguo." Chiang Kai-shek felt inappropriate: "Just call him Jianfeng!" In terms of generations, he is still your grandchildren! The reason why Mao Yingfu was so humble was because his son, who was the director of Chiang Kai-shek's attendant room, took his wife and children abroad when Chiang Kai-shek was in trouble, and he felt that his son had been cultivated by the Chiang family.

Then, Chiang Kai-shek asked Wang Lianghe, who was present, "Old Crane Head, where is Shihe now?" Wang Lianghe replied: "I have been treated in Ningbo and have now returned home." Jiang said: "Shihe has been with me for many years, although there are some problems, it is not good to be exiled, so come back to me!" Wang Lianghe left the table, and after a while he led his son Wang Shihe to come. When Wang Shihe saw Jiang, he saluted and said loudly: "Shihe is willing to follow Mr. Jiang to the end and never move until death!" Chiang Kai-shek was very happy to hear this, and beckoned the father and son of the Wang family to enter the table.

Halfway through the fenghaofang dinner, Chiang Ching-kuo withdrew to the wuling school auditorium to toast the officers who had arranged to eat Chinese New Year's Eve meal there. He raised his wine glass and said in a hoarse voice, "Gentlemen, the family is poor and filial piety, the country is difficult to be loyal, and when we go uphill, some people follow us, which is not unusual." Now that we have gone downhill, you have taken a lot of trouble from all over the world to come here, this is the most rare ah! After drinking it all, the feast was filled with a sad atmosphere.

January 29 is the Lunar New Year. Early in the morning, Chiang Ching-kuo led his wife and children up the mountain to pay his respects to Chiang Kai-shek, who was stationed at Ci'an. Chiang Kai-shek gave his grandchildren a share of the money. After breakfast, Chiang Kai-shek drove to Baishui Lane in Ningbo to pay homage to the ancestor of the Northern Song Dynasty, Jiang Junming. When the car reached the intersection of Cangtou Bridge in Ningbo, he got out of the car and walked to the ancestral god seat plate to take off his hat and bow. After returning to Xikou, Chiang Kai-shek went to the General Ancestral Hall of chiang kai-shek in Xikou and the ancestral halls of the first, second, third and fourth houses to pay homage to the ancestral gods.

Although it is the most festive festival in Chinese, the Jiang family is not happy: "It is hard to imagine how the coming year will be." I don't know how many people spend this new year in pain and sorrow. At present, the whole society is full of blood and tears, and I indulge in new year words, but the truth is so, and so what! But why is it "full of blood and tears", Chiang Ching-kuo did not make further deep thinking and review.

Chiang Ching-kuo's fortieth birthday was a cold and sober one

April 15 of that year was Chiang Ching-kuo's 40th birthday. "Get up in the darkness of the sky, go to the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors, go to the Ci Nunnery at six o'clock, pray to the father at eight o'clock, and pray to the father to repay the favor."

Chiang Kai-shek seemed to have been prepared for his son's birthday, and he waved a piece of paper and inscribed four big characters for Chiang Ching-kuo, "Allegorical and Handsome." The four-character inscription was then made into a plaque and hung in the newspaper hall of the Fenghao Room.

After the four words of "allegorical and handsome", Chiang Kai-shek also wrote a poem as an explanation of the inscription and to explain the expectations for the jingguo, which wrote: "Every evening class, silently recite Mencius's 'Nourishing Qi' chapter." In the past fifteen years, I have not tasted or suddenly realized that I have realized this slightly. He often plays the word 'sex' of the heart and nourishes the sex, and he has four sentences: "Silent and odorless, but vain, the best is medium, and the allegory is handsome." And with the word "allegory" of allegory, he is deeply aware of it, and he is quoted as self-pleasure; but he does not dare to show it. Now, on the fortieth birthday of Jing'er, I specially write this 'allegorical handsomeness' in lieu of private blessings; and hope that he will be able to perceive himself and improve himself, and live up to his expectations. ”

Regarding his father's inscription and text, Chiang Ching-kuo sighed in his heart: "The deeper I hope that what I say, the more I will be spurred on, and after that, I will cultivate and govern things, and I will take this as the criterion." Confucius said, 'Forty without confusion.' I have reached the age of not being confused, I have achieved nothing, and I am often emotional, and I cannot 'hold my heart and nourish my spirits', and when I think about it, I am ashamed! ”

That night, the Jiang family held a birthday dinner, and the jiang family's closest friends and friends, Jiang Chingguo's friends and students, all rushed to participate. Chiang Ching-kuo said in his diary: "Many old friends and old classmates came from all over Shanghai and Hangzhou and came from afar to gather; the villagers were also happy to get here. However, judging from the recollections of other participants, there was no atmosphere of Chiang Ching-kuo's so-called "music" at the night banquet.

Wang Zhiping, a student of the Central Cadre School of the Three Youth Leagues, once described this, and he rushed from Shanghai to celebrate his birthday: "The fortieth birthday of the education chief was simple and simple, cold and clear, there was no shou hall in the Fenghao room, let alone a lively scene of blowing and blowing, and our classmates from Shanghai did not see him until the night feast, which simply omitted the ceremony of worshiping the birthday." The night banquet was not sumptuous, and the invited guests were the concubines and close protégés of Chiang's father and son. Chiang Ching-kuo's toast was the same as before, but now it was not what it used to be, his expression was bleak, and his throat was even more hoarse. Our guests who accompanied and toasted also felt suffocating and dull, and the cups were cold wine, and bitter wine was poured on the heart. Chiang Ching-kuo spoke in a spirited manner, and the guests did not seem to be listening to what he was saying, but only observing his frustrated expression. ”

After the banquet that night, the Jiang family also performed a birthday celebration play in the auditorium of Wuling School to entertain guests who came to wish for the birthday.

Suddenly, where is Chiang Kai-shek going?

On April 21, 1949, the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China broke down, and the next day the People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River in three ways, and the troops rushed to Nanjing. On this day, Chiang Kai-shek urgently invited Li Zongren, He Yingqin, Zhang Qun, and Bai Chongxi to Hangzhou for talks and discuss countermeasures. However, the countermeasures had just been discussed, and the presidential palace in Nanjing was also finished. Chiang Kai-shek hurried back to Xikou on the 23rd and prepared to leave.

Chiang Ching-kuo's diary on April 24 wrote: "The internal and external situation is on the verge of despair, the future is full of shadows, the depression of the spirit and the pain of the heart are indescribable, and the scene of 'mountain rain is about to come and the wind is full of buildings'." Although it is good to steal the home, it is not possible to live for a long time. He decided to send his wife and children to Taiwan for temporary residence, so as to avoid worries about the future and to fulfill the state affairs. ”

At noon, Chiang Kai-shek instructed Chiang Ching-kuo: "Get the ship ready, tomorrow we will leave." Chiang Ching-kuo immediately asked, where to go? Where is the destination? But Chiang Kai-shek did not answer. At that time, there was only one warship on standby at Xiangshan Wharf, and the captain was Lieutenant Colonel Li Yuxi.

Chiang Ching-kuo summoned Li Yuxi to arrange for the start of the voyage to prepare for everything, and Li Yuxi asked Chiang Ching-kuo, "Do you know where the leader is going to go tomorrow?" Chiang Ching-kuo said: "I don't know, but judging by the waterway this time, the purpose is no less than two places: one is Keelung, and the other is Xiamen." Li Yuxi felt that Chiang Ching-kuo's analysis was inseparable from ten, so he went to the port to prepare.

On the afternoon of the same day, Chiang Ching-kuo's wife Fang Liang, sons Xiaowen, Xiaowu, and Xiaoyong, and daughter Xiaozhang left Xikou and went to Taiwan first. Because Chiang Ching-kuo was busy with various affairs of evacuating Xikou, he "smoked everywhere and did not send him off." In the evening, he returned to the home of the Fenghao house after his wife and children left, and felt "very cold, touching the scenery and sadness."

After the original city was destroyed

Chiang Ching-kuo's diary on April 24 recorded the following event: "Liang Dunhou and more than 500 other comrades died heroically in the line of duty... Comrade Liang Dunhou took poison and self-immolated, which made me have infinite feelings, although I and him did not know each other for a long time, but they had several long conversations, their opinions were very agreeable, and I deeply felt that he was proud and upright. Today, such a heroic martyrdom is the most glorious destination, and it is really worthy of being a good man. ”

Liang Dunhou was Yan Xishan's aunt and nephew, and soon after graduating from university, he became Yan Xishan's confidential secretary. Before Yan Xishan fled Taiyuan, he appointed him acting chairman of the Shanxi provincial government. During Liang's tenure as chief of the SPECIAL Police Department, more than 3,300 Communists and progressives were arrested and more than 370 killed, with their hands stained with blood.

On April 20, Taiyuan was taken by the CCP, and Liang committed suicide by taking poison in the basement of the Taiyuan Appeasement Office with Yan Huiqing, a cousin of Yan Xishan, who had long taken care of Yan Xishan's life. Some SWAT officers also committed suicide by taking poison or shooting each other during the city breakdown.

The suicide of many people in Taiyuan City is related to Yan Xishan's deception. When Fu Zuoyi revolted, Yan Xishan gathered military and political personnel in Shanxi to scold Fu Zuoyi, saying that he would die in Taiyuan and commit suicide when the city was destroyed. Yan repeatedly declared publicly: "In the past, there were five hundred brave soldiers in Tian Heng, and they sacrificed heroically, and we have five hundred backbones, and we will swear to defend Taiyuan to the death." If you don't succeed, you become a benevolent person. What was even more absolutely was that after he inquired and learned that the German Nazi officer had committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide poison pills when the Soviet army conquered Berlin, he immediately asked the Chuanzhi Pharmaceutical Factory to prepare five hundred bottles of poison and put them in front of him, so that American reporters could take pictures and publish them in the "Time" magazine and the Shanxi "Revival Daily", and also specially sent the photos to the US ambassador StuArt Layden and others.

On the eve of Yan Xishan's cousin Yan Huiqing committing suicide, Liang Dunhou was asked to write "Yan Huiqing's Desperate Telegram to Yan Xishan", which read: "Five hundred colleagues, Cheng Ren is in the fire." Although the sister is a female stream, her death will has been decided. Witnessing the jade shattering, how dare you destroy the whole thing..." Chiang Ching-kuo's diary said that "more than five hundred comrades died heroically in the line of duty", probably based on this desperate telegram. However, according to the inventory of the siege forces, only 46 people committed suicide. It is said that Yan Xishan read this desperate telegram in Shanghai and burst into tears.

After the Kuomintang authorities arrived in Taiwan, they used the ancient allusion of "five hundred soldiers of Tian Heng" and fabricated the story of "five hundred perfect people in Taiyuan" in the appendix. Yan Xishan also wrote the "Song of five hundred perfect people in Taiyuan", which includes: "The nation has righteousness, Taiyuan is perfect; the sea and the sky are loyal to the soul, and the song is tragic and magnificent... Who can be perfect? Liang Dunhou, a male scholar, and Yan Huiqing, a female student..." "Five Hundred Perfect People in Taiyuan" was even compiled into primary school textbooks in Taiwan, which had a great influence. However, due to the long-term separation between the two sides of the strait, the mainland's literary and historical researchers did not hear of such a thing until 1983.

Many years later, Taiwanese "madman" Li Ao ridiculed Yan Xishan: leaving his cousin who had taken care of him for many years in Taiyuan, and seducing so many people into committing suicide, he abandoned the city and fled, calling Yan Xishan "an unfinished 'perfect person.'"

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